Ukrainian troops forced to pull back in Lastochkyne as Russia’s onslaught pushes along in East

Ukrainian troops have pulled out of a village in the east of the country, an army spokesman said on Monday, as Russian forces make their advantages in manpower and ammunition tell on the battlefield at the start of the war ’s third year.

The latest setback for Kyiv’s soldiers was in the village of Lastochkyne, where they fell back to nearby villages in an attempt to hold the line there, Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesman for one of the Ukrainian troop groupings, said on national television.

Lastochkyne lies to the west of Avdiivka, a suburb of Donetsk city that the Kremlin‘s forces captured on Feb. 18 after a four-month battle. The outnumbered defenders were overwhelmed by Moscow’s military might, and Ukraine chose to pull out its troops and mount a defense elsewhere.

Though not in itself a major loss, abandoning the village illustrates the battlefield challenges Ukraine is currently facing. The new phase of the war has brought some bleak developments for Ukraine.

Despite suffering high losses of troops and equipment, Ukraine says, Moscow's troops are driving on, smashing towns and cities with their superior firepower.

A map showing Lastochkyne:

Western analysts say the Russians are attacking in strength along four parallel axes in the northeast, aiming to press deeper into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also penetrating into the Kharkiv region north of it.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustan Umerov complained Sunday that half of promised Western military support to Ukraine fails to arrive on time. That, he said, makes it hard to undertake proper military planning and ultimately costs the lives of soldiers.

Photo taken from video released by the head of the Russian-controlled Donetsk region Denis